Jan 2007 : Bush’s speech on Iraq - Beginning of the Endgame in Iraq ?
The joint Iraqi-American action on Haifa Street shows that our boys will end up fighting the Sunnis alongside the Shiite dominated Iraqi army. The Shiite dominated Maliki administration will see to it that we do not bring Moqtada Al Sadr’s Shiite Mehdi Army within our crosshairs. Yes, the result of our actions will be weaken the insurgency, but only the Sunni part of it. What of the Shiite part of it? The Shiite Maliki regime will do nothing really about it, and they will prevent us from doing anything to weaken the mailed fist of the Shiites - the Mehdi Army and the Badr Brigades - many of whose members are enrolled in to the formal Iraqi Army and Police.
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Arise, Awake and Stop not till the Goal is reached
-- Swami Vivekanand.

(Last Update: 22 Aug 2008, 01:30 Hrs IST):

!!! JAGTE RAHO !!!

WHY IS REST OF BHARAT ASLEEP, WHEN JAMMU IS ON THE BOIL. BHARAT WILL LOOSE THE LAND OF RISHI KASHYAP, IF REST OF BHARAT DOES NOT SUPPORT THE JAMMUITES !!! IS THE AMARNATH YATRA ONLY DONE BY PEOPLE OF JAMMU? NO !! THE PEOPLE FROM REST OF BHARAT TOO GO FOR THE AMARNATH YATRA. IT IS A SHAME THAT REST OF BHARAT IS NOT RAISING THE VOICE.

ARISE, AWAKE AND STOP NOT TILL THE GOAL IS REACHED.

Yet again a "PANIPAT" of Indo-Pakistan relations

Reuters : 12 Feb 2007: Nine people were injured in communal clashes in Madhya Pradesh on Monday after local people said a Hindu girl was verbally abused by a Muslim youth.
A curfew was in force in six areas of Indore city, 190 km southwest of Bhopal, after rioters from both communities set on fire more than 20 vehicles, police said.
Police shot into the air, and used teargas shells and cane charges to clear the streets. A handful of arrests were made and extra forces were being brought into the city.

Expansion of Sharia Law in Jammu-Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh.

Jammu and Kashmir assembly has passed a bill making Sharia law applicable in the State.
All major political parties in J&K have supported this bill, which was passed with a voice vote. Following the footsteps of J&K, it is reported that Uttar Pradesh Government is also going ahead with its plan to put Sharia law courts for Muslims. The time is not far away, when the Sharia courts will be established all over the country. Are the non-muslims reading and listening ?

Expansion of Sharia Law, this time in the Banking sector.

After the Sachar report for upliftment of muslims, shortly we will have a report on Islamic Bank to be established in Bharat.

Banking on the politics of religion, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has set up a committee to study the feasibility of an Islamic Bank. The committee, headed by the cabinet secretary, has the finance, law, revenue secretaries and ex-RBI officials as members. It is to be noted that RBI has earlier rejected the proposals to establish a Islamic Bank.

So who came up with this idea of Islamic Bank ? In January 2007, a committee of Muslim MPs in a report to the Prime Minister had proposed for such a bank. Seeing a great opportunity to appease the muslims, yet again, PM immediately latched onto the idea and on Jan22, 2007 set up a committee to study the feasibility and legal aspects of the venture.

So is the Government of India serious about Islamic Banks ? YES It seems so. Prime Ministers Office (PMO) has already directed Finance Ministry to send directions to the non-islamic banks to start setting aside 15 per cent of priority sector lending for minorities.

What's a Islamic Bank ? Islamic banking refers to a system of banking or banking activity that is consistent with Islamic law (Sharia) principles and guided by Islamic economics. Sharia prohibits usury, the collection and payment of interest, also commonly called riba in Islamic discourse.

Many of the Islamic banks established in Islamic countries do actually deal in interest, but merely conceal it through legal tricks.

Can Bharat afford a Islamic Bank ? The answer is a BIG NO. Why ? Those backing the proposal of Islamic banks say that Islamic Bank can take care of the controversial haj subsidy. Which means the Government will go one step further and issue notification/ordinance/bill to say that RBI regulations will not apply to the Islamic Banks. The haj subsidy will be replaced by Muslims having accounts in these Islamic banks and this money will be utilised for Haj.

It may look like an exaggeration, but looking into the appeasement policy of the Indian Government, we will see these Islamic Banks funding the Islamic terrorists worldwide and people like Osama bin Laden having a saving account, without monetary interest, but a larger interest of waging jihad against the non-muslims.

!!! JAGTE RAHO !!!

LET'S NOT FORGET THE RADHABAI CHAWL MASSACRE OF NINE HINDUS.

The facts of the Radhabai Chawl massacre case are that on the night of January 7, 1993, nine Hindus -- 6 females and 3 males, of whom 2 were minors -- were locked in a room doused with kerosene and then set on fire. Five of them died on the spot. One died later in hospital. The two minors and one girl survived after sustaining disfiguring burns.

The chawl was in a mainly Muslim basti and that the assailants were Muslims: Six witnesses declared that the attackers stood around shouting "Allah-o-Akbar" and fled only when they heard the police sirens.

!!! JAGTE RAHO !!!

4 Jaish-e-Mohammad arrested in Delhi, 1 Pakistani citizen and 3 others are Kashmiris, after a 25-minute gunbattle in which the police and terrorists exchanged 50 rounds of firing. No one is reported to have been injured.
Besides three kilograms of RDX, six hand grenades, four detonators, one timer, $10,000 and Rs 50,000 were recovered from tHese Islamic Terrorists.
A letter received of a revenge, if Afzal Guru is hanged .... and now this event... Are the Islamic Terrorists already prepared to wage a war ?

!!! JAGTE RAHO !!!

Muslim Infidels and Affirmative Action.

We do not know whether the indifferent and ignorant
class of non-muslims will object on the "communal
motive" of the High-level committee report on
"social, economic and educational status of the muslim community of
india", but Muslims have to start worrying. The way
this report, which is now commonly called as "Sachar
Report", has profiled the muslims into
classes, after converting from a non-muslims to muslims
during the dark age of muslim rulers of Bharat, is just
astonishing.

Chapter 10 of "Sachar Report" is titled as
"Muslim OBCs and Affirmative Action" whereas it should
be actually read as "Muslim Infidels and Affirmative Action.
Why ? Because it proves that the Muslims are following the
Hindu caste and/or class system, which esentially means that these set
of muslims are not into the "Dar-ul-Islam" and
according to Islamic principles these muslims should be called as Kafirs
( Infidels).

Will the muslims cry foul and say "Islam is in
danger" or will they remain silent, since they may get
some concessions in the already over-populated list of
"reservation" and "quota" system in the jobs ?
Till now, in the world we had two main sects in Islam, the
Shias and the Sunnis, and now we have a new class (not sect) of
muslims. The Government of India has officially called them
"Muslim OBCs" and we will call them either "Muslim
Infidels" or "Infidel Muslims". We do not
know what will the other muslims call these Muslim-OBCs ? In the
past, few of these "Muslim-OBCs" were called as
arzals (degraded) and the 1901 census in India called them
as Dalit Muslims “with whom no other Muhammadan would associate, and who are forbidden to enter the mosque or to use the public burial
ground”.

Before going into the details of Sachar committee report we will look
into a brief history of how/why the Government came up with the
term "Muslim-OBCs".

This committee was formed after a notification (No. 850/3/C/3/05-Pol.)
on 9 March, 2005 by the PMO (Prime Minister's Office) of the
Government of India.

The very first paragraph in the notification very cleverly
calls "Muslims as a class of people" and not
"Muslim as a religion" to escape from the courts,
if at all somebody files a PIL against the Government, so that the
Government of India can implement the report calling it as
"affirmative action" based on "Class"
and not "Religion". But will muslims allow
themselves to be called as a class rather than a part of the
Muslim Umma ?

The second paragraph has the names who completed the report. Apart
from Justice Rajender Sachar the committee had
Shri Saiyid Hamid, Dr. T.K. Ooman, Shri M.A. Basith, Dr. Rakesh Basant,
Dr. Akhtar Majeed and Dr. Abu Saleh Shariff as the other members.
The committee did not have any Women member.

The third paragraph mentions about the "terms of the
reference" of the above committee, which should shock all
Indians, but especially the muslims need to be get worried of
the profiling of muslims in India in the 2-a-(vi)
of the notification asking Sachar committe to look for "what is the proportion of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) from the Muslim community in the total OBC population in various states ? Are the Muslim OBCs listed in the comprehensive list of OBCs prepared by the National and State Backward Classes Commissions and adopted by the Central and State Governments for reservation for various purposes ? What is the share of Muslim OBCs in the total public sector employment for OBCs in the Centre and in the various States in various years ?

In the next part we will discuss and expose the game plan of
the Congress led Government, of securing and consolidating its own
vote bank of the Infidel muslims in the future elections .

26 January, Republic Day - a pledge to defend the freedom of India.

Two events are associated with India’s freedom from colonial rule. One is Independence Day (15th August) and the other, Republic Day (26th January). The former is a historical event, when India gained independence in 1947 and freed herself from the foreign rule, whereas the Jan 26 is the day when India became a Sovereign Democratic Republic with a constitution coming into effect. On Independence Day, the past is recalled whereas, on Republic Day, the pledge is renewed. Independence Day has rhetoric built in the celebration; Republic Day is without speeches.

Every year, a grand Republic day parade is held in New Delhi, India's capital city to observe the anniversary of the Indian Republic. The Government of India spends a lot of energy and resources to put up a good show and the various government agencies spend the several months planning for the event.

Republic Day is also celebrated all over the country at all the administrative units like the capital cities, district headquarters, sub divisions, talukas, and panchayats. The major ceremonies at Delhi and the state capitals revolve around the parade in which all the defence services police contingents, Home guards and Civil Defence, NCC, school children and cultural troupes participate followed by a display of tableaux and folk dances.

The celebration mood lasts for one week. It consists of the ground preparations, rehearsals, the main display and spills over to the ‘Beating of Retreat’ on January 29, a day before Martyrs Day which marks the assassination of Mohandas Gandhi.

The Indian constitution whose promulgation is celebrated is highly symbolic of the aspirations which ‘we the people of India’ cherish. It ushered in a social revolution silently by changing the status of the individual from a subject of a colonial empire to a citizen of a free country. It laid down the method of governance and established the relationship of the citizen to the state. It endeavours to secure justice, liberty, equality and fraternity and assures the dignity of the individual by conferring fundamental rights upon the citizen. With one stroke, it abolished all distinctions of status, rank, creed, colour and sex. It outlawed untouchability, an abominable social practice that had created discrimination and tensions in society.

Republic Day reminds us of the fulfillment of the pledge that was made on the midnight of Independence. It is future-oriented, a vision of India that we nourish, an acceptance of responsibility and making of promises as well as recapitulation of the achievements. The act of framing the Constitution puts a spotlight on B.R. Ambedkar whose indefatigable labour and sharp insights helped the preparation of the document. As the Minister for Law, Dr. Ambedkar placed the draft Constitution before the Constituent Assembly on 4th .November 1948. He gave satisfactory answers to many questions about the Constitution. The part of the Constitution wiping out 'untouchability' was approved on 29th November 1948. We should remember the words of Dr. Ambedkar in answer to the debate on the Indian Constitution
"India has lost her freedom only owing to treason of her own people. Raja Dahir of Sindh was defeated by Mohammad Bin Khasim. The only reason for this defeat was that the generals of the Sindh army took bribes from Khasim's men and did not fight for the King. It was Raja Jaichand of India who invited Mohammad Ghori to fight against Prithviraj. When Shivaji was fighting for the freedom of the Hindus, other Maratha leaders and Rajputs were fighting for the Mughals. When the Sikhs were fighting against the British, their leader did nothing..... Such things should not happen again; therefore, everyone must resolve to fight to the last drop of his blood, to defend the freedom of India."
So let us all take a pledge to defend the freedom of India.

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, a great revolutionary.

Give me blood, I will give you freedom -- Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose(born on January 23rd 1897), a great revolutionary.

Known as Netaji (leader), Subhash Chandra Bose was a fierce and popular leader and a great revolutionary. He was the president of the Indian National Congress in 1937 and 1939. He followed the path which no one even could have thought of and founded a nationalist force called the Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj). Had India got Independence because of his armed struggle, India would have been a strong nation and perhaps would have been amongst the top five.

Subhas Chandra was born on January 23rd 1897 in Cuttack (in present day Orissa). A brilliant student, he topped the matriculation examination of Calcutta province and passed his B.A. in Philosophy from the Presidency College in Calcutta. He was strongly influenced by Swami Vivekananda's teachings and was known for his patriotic zeal as a student. His parents' wishes kept him away from the Indian freedom struggle and led him into studies for the Indian Civil Service in England. He stood fourth in those examinations.

He returned to India, being deeply disturbed by the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre by General Dyer in 1919. He came under the influence of Mahatma Gandhi and joined the Indian National Congress. He was elected president of the Indian National Congress twice in 1937 and in 1939, the second time defeating Gandhiji's nominee.

Bose advocated complete freedom for India at the earliest, whereas the Congress Committee wanted it in phases, through a Dominion status. Other younger leaders including Jawaharlal Nehru supported Bose and finally at the historic Lahore Congress convention, the Congress had to adopt Poorna Swaraj (complete freedom) as its motto.

Gandhi’s Salt Satyagraha Movement (1930) again found Subhas in the thick of the fight, and the Government arrested him and lodged him in jail. When the Satyagraha Movement was called off in March 1931 upon the conclusion of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, Subhas, who, along with others, was also set at liberty, raised his voice in protest against the Pact and the suspension of the movement, specially when patriots like Bhagat Singh and his associates had not been saved from the gallows. He was imprisoned and expelled from India. But defying the ban, he came back to India and was imprisoned again! In fact Bose was jailed eleven times between 1920 and 1941.

During the World War II, Bose warned the Indian people and the British against dragging India into the war and the material losses she could incur. He brought a resolution to give the British six months to hand India over to the Indians, failing which there would be a revolt. There was much opposition to his rigid stand, and he resigned from the post of president and formed a progressive group known as the Forward Block (1939).

The second World War broke out in September of 1939. As predicted by Bose, India was declared as a warring state (on behalf of the British) by the Governor General, without consulting Indian leaders. Subhas Chandra Bose started a mass movement against utilizing Indian resources and men for the great war. There was a tremendous response to his call and the British promptly imprisoned him . He took to a hunger-strike, and after his health deteriorated on the 11th day of fasting, he was freed and was placed under house arrest. The British were afraid of violent reactions in India, should something happen to Bose in prison.

Bose suddenly disappeared in the beginning of 1941 and it was not until many days that authorities realized Bose was not inside the house they were guarding! He traveled by foot, car and train and resurfaced in Kabul (now in Afghanistan), only to disappear once again. In November 1941, his broadcast from German radio sent shock waves among the British and electrified the Indian masses who realized that their leader was working on a master plan to free their motherland. It also gave fresh confidence to the revolutionaries in India who were challenging the British in many ways.

The Axis powers (mainly Germany) assured Bose military and other help to fight the British. Japan by this time had grown into another strong world power, occupying key colonies of Dutch, French, and British colonies in Asia. Bose had struck alliance with Germany and Japan. He rightly felt that his presence in the East would help his countrymen in freedom struggle and second phase of his saga began. It is told that he was last seen on land near Keil canal in Germany, in the beginning of 1943. A most hazardous journey was undertaken by him under water, covering thousands of miles, crossing enemy territories. He was in the Atlantic, the Middle East, Madagascar and the Indian ocean. Battles were being fought over land, in the air and there were mines in the sea.

At one stage he traveled 400 miles in a rubber dinghy to reach a Japanese submarine, which took him to Tokyo. He was warmly received in Japan and was declared the head of the Indian army, which consisted of about 40,000 soldiers from Singapore and other eastern regions. Bose called it the Indian National Army (INA) and a government by the name "Azad Hind Government" was declared on the 21st of October 1943. INA freed the Andaman and Nicobar islands from the British, and were renamed as Swaraj and Shaheed islands. The Government started functioning.

Bose wanted to free India from the Eastern front. He had taken care that Japanese interference was not present from any angle. Army leadership, administration and communications were managed only by Indians. Subhash Brigade, Azad Brigade and Gandhi Brigade were formed. INA marched through Burma and occupied Coxtown on the Indian Border. A touching scene ensued when the solders entered their 'free' motherland. Some lay down and kissed, some placed pieces of mother earth on their heads, others wept. They were now inside of India and were determined to drive out the British! Delhi Chalo (Let's march to Delhi) was the war cry.

An unparalleled example of the declaration of Independent Indian government with a cabinet & its own army was seen in form of the Indian National Army under the leadership of Subhash Chanda Bose. It literally had a military attack on British India & had confronted them till Imphal. With the help from Germany & active support from Japan, they shook the very foundation of the British Empire.

The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki changed the history of humankind. Japan had to surrender. Bose was in Singapore at that time and decided to go to Tokyo for his next course of action. Reportedly, the plane he boarded crashed near Taipei and he died in the hospital of severe burns on 18 August 1945. He was just 48. Nobody took pain at that time to investigate deeply into the conspiracy of assasinating Netaji. Was the assasination plot hatched by Indian National Congress ?

Know what your duty is
and do it without hesitation
For a warrior, there is nothing better
than a battle that duty enjoins
- Bhagvad Gita, Sankhya Yog (2-31)

Makar Sankranti -- The oldest solstice celebration.

Winter was a very difficult time for all primitive agrarian societies from east to west. The end of the growing season meant that the people had to live mostly on the food they had stored. In addition, the sun appeared in the sky for shorter and shorter periods each day, giving rise to the fear that it might disappear altogether, leaving the world in darkness and cold. The strengthening of the sun following the solstice was a reason for celebration, signifying the return of hope for a new spring. The concept of the birth, death and rebirth of the sun became associated with the winter solstice and thus with the savior god of many cultures.

The different dates for these celebrations are due to the precession of the equinoxes, which moves the date of the solstice backwards approximately one day every two thousand years. Currently, the calendar date of the winter solstice is in transition between the 21st and 22nd of December. By this definition, the oldest of the solstice celebrations is Makar Sankranti in India, which takes place on January 14th - an indication that it has been observed for over 30,000 years. Even if we offset the calendar discrepancies by 13 days, the possible age of this observance comes to about 10,000 years and still it becomes the oldest.

Across the globe there are Solstice celebrations fall on different dates; from East to West, from Shohgatsu in Japan to Christmas in Europe; the Makar Sankranti being the oldest of all.

Most of the Christians celebrate Christmas, birth date of Jesus Christ, on 25 December. But why was Dec 25th chosen as a date for celebrations. Actually, Christianity borrowed and then replaced Mithraism, which was the main religion in Persia and Rome. Followers of Mithraism used to worship the Vedic Sun-god "Mitra" or "Mithra". It was the birthday of Mithra, 25 December (winter solstice at that time), that was taken by the early Christians as the birthday of Jesus as a need and urgency by the early Christians to compromise with existing traditions. The real birthday of Christ was abandoned in favor of the birthday of Mithra. The worshippers of Mithra were called "Soldiers of Mithra" which is the origin of the term "Soldiers of Christ."

On Makar Sankranti day the Sun begins its ascendancy and journey into the Northern Hemisphere, which is called as Uttarayan. Thus, it is believed that it signifies an event wherein the Gods seem to remind their children that 'Tamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya'. May you go higher & higher - to more & more Light and never to darkness. Sun for the Hindus stands for Pratyaksha-Brahman - the manifest God, who symbolizes, the one, non-dual, self-effulgent, glorious divinity blessing one & all tirelessly. Sun is the one who transcends time and also the one who rotates the proverbial Wheel of Time. The famous Gayatri Mantra, which is chanted everyday by every faithful Hindu, is directed to Sun God to bless them with intelligence & wisdom. Sun not only represents God but also stands for an embodiment of knowledge & wisdom.

Makar Sankranti is one of the most auspicious day for the Hindus, and is celebrated in almost all parts of the India, with great devotion, fervor & gaiety. Lakhs of people take a dip in places like Ganga Sagar & Prayag and pray to Sun God.

It is celebrated in southern part of the India as Pongal, and in state of Punjab is celebrated as Lohri & Maghi. Gujarati's not only look reverentially up to the sun, but also offer thousands of their colorful oblations in the form of beautiful kites all over the skyline. They may be trying to reach upto their glorious God or bring about greater proximity with the one who represents the best. It is a day for which Bhishma Pitamah kept waiting, during the Mahabharat period to leave his mortal coil.

Astrological Significance:

Makar means Capricorn and Sankranti is transition. There is a sankranti every month when the sun passes from one sign of the zodiac to the next. There are twelve signs of the zodiac, and thus there are twelve sankranti's as well. Each of these sankranti's has its own relative importance but two of these are more important - the Mesh(Aries) Sankranti and the most important, the Makar(Capricorn) Sankranti. Transition of the Sun from Sagittarius to Capricorn, during the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere is known as Makar Sankranti. From this day begins the six-month long Uttarayan, considered very auspicious for attaining higher worlds hereafter.

While the traditional Hindu Calendar is basically based on lunar positions, but sankranti is a solar event, so the date should have been 21 or 22 December since the current date of the winter solstice is in transition between the 21st and 22nd of December. We all know that the dates of all Hindu festivals keep changing since most of the Hindus follow Lunar calendar. But Makar Sankranti is a Solar Solistice event, and should have been celebrated on 22 December.

So how or why is Makar Sankranti celebrated on 14th January?

The Indian winter solstice was traditionally been celebrated as Sankranti, though somewhere down the centuries a calculation of the precession of the equinoxes, which moves the date of the solstice backwards was not taken into account and hence it is still celebrated on 14th of January every year. But this day is still called as Uttarayan, which means "Northern journey", and marks the beginning of the sun's ascent. This proves that Makar Sankranti was been observed and celebrated on 14 January for over 30,000 years by the Hindus, who still follow traditions of the Sanatan Dharm, the Eternal Law.

This festival is celebrated differently in different parts of the India.

Uttar Pradesh:
In Uttar Pradesh, Sankrant is called ‘Khichiri’. Taking a dip in the holy rivers on this day is regarded as most auspicious. A big one-month long ‘Magha-Mela’ fair begins at Prayag (Allahabad) on this occasion. Apart from Triveni, ritual bathing also takes place at many places like Haridvar and Garh Mukteshwar in Uttar Pradesh, and Patna in Bihar.

Bengal:
In Bengal every year a very big Mela is held at Ganga Sagar This mela is attended by a large number of pilgrims from all over the country.

Tamil Nadu:
In Tamil Nadu Sankrant is known by the name of ‘Pongal’, which takes its name from the surging of rice boiled in a pot of milk, and this festival has more significance than even Diwali. It is very popular particularly amongst farmers. Rice and pulses cooked together in ghee and milk is offered to the family deity after the ritual worship. In essence in the South this Sankrant is a ‘Puja’ (worship) for the Sun God.

Andhra Pradesh:
In Andhra Pradesh, it is celebrated as a three-day harvest festival Pongal. It is a big event for the people of Andhra Pradesh. The Telugus like to call it 'Pedda Panduga' meaning big festival. The whole event lasts for four days, the first day Bhogi, the second day Sankranti, the third day Kanuma and the fourth day, Mukkanuma.

Maharashtra:
In Maharashtra on the Sankranti day people exchange multi-colored tilguds made from til (sesame seeds) and sugar and til-laddus made from til and jaggery. Til-polis are offered for lunch. While exchanging tilguls as tokens of goodwill people greet each other saying – ‘til-gul ghya, god god bola’ meaning ‘accept these tilguls and speak sweet words’. The under-lying thought in the exchange of tilguls is to forget the past ill-feelings and hostilities and resolve to speak sweetly and remain friends.
This is a special day for the women in Maharashtra when married women are invited for a get-together called ‘Haldi-Kumkum’ and given gifts of any utensil, which the woman of the house purchases on that day.

Gujarat:
In Gujarat Sankrant is observed more or less in the same manner as in Maharashtra but with a difference that in Gujarat there is a custom of giving gifts to relatives. The elders in the family give gifts to the younger members of the family. The Gujarati Pundits on this auspicious day grant scholarships to students for higher studies in astrology and philosophy. This festival thus helps the maintenance of social relationships within the family, caste and community.
Kite flying has been associated with this festival in a big way. It has become an internationally well-known event.

Punjab:
In Punjab where December and January are the coldest months of the year, huge bonfires are lit on the eve of Sankrant and which is celebrated as "LOHARI". Sweets, sugarcane and rice are thrown in the bonfires, around which friends and relatives gather together. The following day, which is Sankrant, is celebrated as MAGHI. The Punjabi's dance their famous Bhangra dance till they get exhausted. Then they sit down and eat the sumptuous food that is specially prepared for the occasion.

Kerala:
The 40 days anushthana by the devotees of Ayyappa ends on this day in Sabarimala with a big festival.

Bundelkhand:
In Bundelkhand and Madhya Pradesh this festival of Sankrant is known by the name ‘Sakarat’ and is celebrated with great pomp & merriment accompanied by lot of sweets.

Tribals of Orissa:
Many tribals in our country start their New Year from the day of Sankrant by lighting bonfires, dancing and eating their particular dishes sitting together. The Bhuya tribals of Orissa have their Maghyatra in which small home-made articles are put for sale.

Assam:
In Assam, the festival is celebrated as Bhogali Bihu.

Coastal Region:
In the coastal regions, it is a harvest festival dedicated to Indra.